Disclaimer: Am I Japanese? Can I draw worth a damn? Since the answer is no to both questions, then you must conclude that I did not create and therefore do not own Naruto.

Chapter 12

Sasuke woke as he always did—early, instantly, and without any knowledge about what dreams or nightmares he might have entertained during the long night. He wasn't sure if it was a defense mechanism brought on by too many nightmares as a child or if he simply forgot how to dream, but the raven-haired teen slept like the dead. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing for a normal person to do so, but considering he was anything but normal, Sasuke simply accepted it as a part of his life.

He went through his morning routine silently. Shower, change, hair—it was always the same for him. The room was stark in its decorations—only a silk banner of his clan bearing the names of his parents as well as his brother and himself created by his mother graced the cream colored walls and the bonsai plants Iruka-sensei gave him once in a while sat in the corners of the room. The small shrine he kept for his parents was against the south wall—so that it faced the Uchiha district and their old home. The weapons and scrolls he received the day before lay in neat piles on the bookshelves of the small drawing room of his suite.

He noticed a pack of note cards on the tea table along with a list of names and remembered Warai's insistence that he write thank you notes to each person who gave him a gift. The reminder that he no longer lived by himself caused the young Uchiha to frown. He also noted a small brazier near the table that kept the room warm in the early morning chill.

Sasuke remembered placing the small coal burning device there himself and turned to pick up the small teapot he prepared the night before. The tea was a ritual his mother always had in the mornings and the Uchiha felt a measure of comfort in doing the same. Although if asked, he would deny such feelings as weak sentiment and claim that tea was helpful in waking him up.

When the tea was done, Sasuke poured himself a cup and walked over to the sliding door on the other side of the room. Silently opening the portal, he looked over the serene beauty of the rock garden he found the day before. The rock garden was one of the main reasons he chose this suite of rooms—despite the fact that it was close to the suite occupied by Naruto and Warai.

He enjoyed quiet times like these. The sun had only begun to rise over the horizon and—since the estate was on the western part of the village and their rooms were in the east wing—Sasuke had a beautiful vision of the sky changing from darkest indigo into the soft oranges and light blue of the coming day. He sipped his tea and watched the sky.

The sound of a sliding door opening caused the Uchiha to tense and bring his hand to his thigh—where a kunai was always strapped no matter what the time of day. He turned his head slowly to watch as Sakura, dressed in a soft green yukata, come out and kneel on the wooden porch that ran along the length outside of their rooms.

He didn't know that his room was next to hers.

Sakura seemed entirely unaware that the object of her affections lounged so close to her. Sasuke's frown deepened as he realized that her attention was either on the sight before them or focused entirely inward towards her own thoughts. A complete disregard for your surroundings was not a trait desired in any shinobi.

Sakura sat and stared at the rock garden while Sasuke stood and stared at her. The air around them held a slight heaviness in it. Not an uncomfortable one—just an expectant one. Sasuke ignored it, while Sakura simply basked in it. They remained this way until the sky was clear blue and the sun finally showed her face over the horizon. Sasuke left before the girl could turn her head and find him there, but didn't close his door.

Warai looked over when she heard a shuffling near the kitchen door and gave a terse nod to the figure standing there. She held up the spatula she held and gestured to the omelet she was making.

"Do you want anything in particular?"

Sasuke looked at the eggs and shook his head. "I'll just have some of the left over ramen from last night."

Warai laughed at that and competently placed the large omelet on a plate that held several more. She brought that and the rice she made on the table and set down four bowls.

"What's so funny?" Sasuke asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee. His morning tea was to relax him—he needed coffee to sustain him.

"You," Warai answered. She placed jugs of orange juice and milk on the table and sat down. "With both Naruto and me here, what makes you think that we have any left over ramen?"

Sasuke felt a small smile break through his mask, but hid it with a sip of coffee. He turned to find the table set and breakfast ready.

"You set a good table, Warai," he commented as he sat down across from her. He remembered her dream to have a large family and thought of his own will to rebuild his clan. "You'll make a good wife one day."

"Just not yours," a voice growled from the doorway.

Both teens turned to find Naruto leaning against the doorjamb with his thumbs in his pockets. Sasuke had to admit that the short blonde looked slightly menacing now that he no longer dressed in that hideous orange jumpsuit and instead wore that black vest/jacket that showed the muscles in his arms. Warai simply blushed at the look in her boyfriend's eyes and stared down at her plate.

Both of them tossed and turned last night—having slept with the other nearby for four years made it uncomfortable to sleep without the other—until Naruto solved the problem by slipping into Warai's bed. She still couldn't get the memory of this morning's snuggle session out of her head. Not to mention the fact that Naruto looked especially yummy with his hair shadowing his eyes in the "post-shower" look he sported at the moment.

Naruto let an uncharacteristic smirk settle on his face at the sight of Warai's blush and walked over to kiss his girlfriend on the head. He ran his hand through her dark blonde hair as he sat down next to her—at the head of the table. He nodded at Sasuke and felt a small measure of satisfaction at the other boy's confused look.

Bet he thought that I'd be loud and annoying in the morning, the kitsune thought to himself.

Sakura walked in then and sat down next to Warai. The two girls murmured their 'good mornings' and the boys noticed that Sakura's previously waist length hair was now cut to just above her shoulders. Sasuke admitted to himself—very deep within himself—that the look suited the girl better than her long hair did.

"When did you cut your hair, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked around a mouthful of eggs and rice.

The rosette-haired girl winced at the sight of half-chewed food and paused to swallow her own mouthful before answering. "Last night during training Warai-chan cut it for me," she said.

"She told me that she used to keep it short, but grew it for—um—personal reasons," Warai explained. She hesitated to reveal the fact that Sakura grew her hair because she heard that Sasuke liked girls with long hair, but everyone at the table knew the truth anyway.

"So why cut it now?" Naruto wondered.

"It was getting in my way," Sakura replied. She glanced at Warai and smiled. "Warai might be able to fight with her long hair, but I can't. The feel of it sticking to my skin is too uncomfortable."

Naruto grunted in acknowledgement and continued to shovel food into his mouth. The girls ate at a more leisurely pace and Sasuke followed suit. Breakfast was mostly silent after that and the morning progressed quietly.

"Y'know, Naruto," Sakura noted as she put her bowl in the sink. "I would have figured you to be all energy and hyper-ness in the morning."

"Nah," the blonde admitted. "I only get hyper after I train or when I'm on a mission."

"That last part's only theory," Warai said. "We haven't been on a mission yet."

"And we won't get one anytime soon if you don't hurry up with the clean up," Sasuke said, joining the conversation for the first time. "The dobe and I will train in the courtyard until you girls are done."

"What?" Naruto asked. Sasuke grabbed the blonde's arm and pulled him to the front of the house while the girls stared in wonder.

"Figures," Warai said, hand on her hip. "The first thing he says to all of us and it's about missions and training."

"He stuck us with KP…" Sakura noted.

"We stuck him with Kitchen Patrol last night," Warai replied, picking up the empty rice bowl. "It's only fair."

They both heard the sound of a body slamming into a wall and Naruto's yell of "TEME!" and turned to each other with a smile.

"At last the day starts," Warai joked. The sound of another body hitting a wall came through the open windows and this time they heard Sasuke grunt with pain.

"Let's get these dishes clean before they're too sore for a mission," Sakura commented. Warai nodded and together the two kunoichi cleared the table to the sounds of the early morning birds and the curses of two genin resounding through the air.

Five shinobi—four of which were genin—walked into the foyer and took off their sandals before entering the main living room of the house. The two female members of the group split off to gather a few things from their rooms while the two younger males sat at the tea table in the center of the room. The lone adult of the group sat at a window seat and pulled out an orange book with a warning circle slashed through it on the cover.

The girls returned with their items and the boys left to change their clothes. When they returned, two pairs of pants—one black, the other white—landed in the laps of the females. The girls smiled in memory of how and why the pants needed to be mended and started on their task.

One of the youths pulled out a dull kunai and sat with a sharpening stone in his lap. The others simply tossed their own dulled weapons at the teen, who grunted in acknowledgement and proceeded to sharpen each and every one.

The other youth, the only one who had yet to reach the age of 13, opened a package to reveal a long dark trench coat. He picked up a large red patch and began sewing the emblem onto the back of the coat with even stitches.

Silence reigned for at least thirty minutes. Once everyone was immersed in his or her own task, they heard the beginnings of the now familiar rant that was their late afternoon ritual.

"Today's missions were a complete waste of time!" the blonde boy muttered as he finished sewing his family crest onto the back of the coat.

"Yes, they were," the lone adult agreed.

"Anyone could've gotten that stupid cat!"

"And weeded that yard…"

"And cleaned up that riverbank…"

"And ushered that wedding."

The list of menial tasks was stated by each of the teens seated on the floor. None of which looked up from their individual tasks.

"But the food at the reception was good," Kakashi stated after a few moments of quiet passed.

"And we did get our revenge in the end," Sakura laughed, finished stitching the tears in Sasuke's pants.

"The family won't ask us to pay for the damages, right, Kakashi-sensei?" Warai asked worriedly. She'd finished with Naruto's pants fifteen minutes ago and was now in the middle of her latest needlepoint project.

"I don't see how they could demand that of us," Sasuke replied. He tested the sharpness of the kunai he held and passed it to Sakura. The brunette ignored the slight tingle he felt when their fingers brushed and went on to the next kunai in the pile.

"Sasuke's right," Kakashi agreed. "That gazebo was slated for demolition after the reception anyway."

"Serves them right for serving Naru-kun cola anyway," Warai muttered. "I specifically told them not to give him any."

Sasuke and Naruto shared a look and the blonde held back a smile. The Uchiha simply shrugged his shoulders in apparent confusion. He enjoyed thwarting Warai's attempts at controlling Naruto's soda consumption and the chaos that reigned whenever the blonde did manage to drink a sip was wholly amusing.

The raven-haired teen could no longer deny the obvious: living with these people was changing him.

Sakura stood up and passed Sasuke his pants. She gave him a small smile and kept down a blush when he nodded in gratitude. The kunoichi looked over to their sensei and asked softly, "Are you staying for dinner, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Depends," the gray-haired jounin replied. "Whose turn is it to cook?"

"Mine," she answered. Sakura knew—they all did—that their sensei's question was merely a formality. He would eat dinner with them regardless of the chef for the night.

Kakashi placed a bookmark into his book and turned to smile at the girl. "Then the answer is: yes. Do you need anything from the market?"

Sakura thought for a moment and shook her head. "I don't think so."

"We're low on green tea," Sasuke said. "As well as udon noodles and naruto."

"Okay," the jounin said, standing and stretching. "I'll go and get those. Do you have any sake around here?"

Four pairs of eyes stared at the jounin in silent reprimand.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head and sighed. Asuma's team didn't care and broke the rules regarding alcohol consumption on a regular basis. Kurenai's team occasionally drank during Clan functions—since all of the members of Team 10 came from noble houses, it wasn't that surprising. But somehow, Kakashi managed to get the only genin team in existence that truly stood against underage drinking.

The only reason the man kept accepting his team's invitations to dinner was that each and every one of them was a better cook than he was himself. Which really wasn't saying much, but nonetheless, all of the genin on his team really were exceptional cooks.

"I'll get myself a bottle then," he murmured as he slipped on his sandals and left the estate.

Sakura sat on the small porch overlooking her rock garden and sighed in contentment. Early morning dew shown on the few plants in the courtyard and birds chirped their 'hellos' to the dawn. She didn't mind the chill in the air and simply enjoyed the daily wonder that was the sunrise.

The girl felt the familiar presence of Sasuke settle next to her and bit back a smile. Ever since their second morning in their new home, the Uchiha shared the sunrise with her. She knew, of course, that he watched her that first day. Her chakra control was near perfect and she always knew where he was—she was that sensitive to him.

Now, almost a month later, they continued to share this quiet time together.

Sakura was surprised that Sasuke tolerated her presence in the mornings, but decided that he probably did because she never spoke during their sunrise meetings. Nor did she speak of them later in the day. She felt a tug on her light green yukata and turned to stare at her silent companion.

This was different than their normal routine.

Sasuke watched as Sakura's confused gaze traveled from his eyes to the cup of tea he held. Sakura took the cup and silently drank. He tried to convince himself that he was just sharing with her because he accidentally made too much, but the excuse rang hollowly through his mind. Making too much tea didn't explain the extra cup he took from the kitchen the night before. Out of the corner of his eyes, the raven-haired teen noticed that the pale pink of the girl's hair matched nicely with the ever-lightening sky above them, but remained silent.

Sakura knew that her companion drank tea every morning. She just never expected him to share the beverage with her. She felt a minute shift in their relationship and felt a warm glow settle in her stomach. Although Sasuke's cold attitude disillusioned her at the beginning, as time went by, she found herself admiring the teen as a person and not just as a symbol. Her obsession was quickly turning into the love she claimed it was.

Watching the tender ways Warai and Naruto treated each other reminded the girl how she wanted to be with her love. Even though the couple argued as much as they embraced, Sakura could sense the deep respect and affection they had for each other.

She wanted that sort of relationship with Sasuke.

As the sun climbed higher in the sky and they heard the sounds of Warai and Naruto moving around in the house, Sasuke and Sakura remained silent and enjoyed the morning—and each other. They rose simultaneously and turned toward their respective rooms. Before Sakura disappeared to get ready for the day, Sasuke's voice stopped her.

"Ino's wrong," he rasped in his deep voice. "Short hair suits you."

Sakura blushed as he entered his room and went to get ready for the day.

A/N:

I know, not a lot of Warai x Naruto stuff this chapter, but I'd like to get a bit of Sasuke x Sakura in there too.

Again, this isn't filler…everything has a purpose in this story. I swear!

Okay, age description time…just cuz even I was getting confused

Naruto—12 years old—DOB October 10

Sasuke—13 years old—DOB July 23

Sakura—13 years old—DOB March 28

Warai—13 years old—DOB March 10

I mentioned that Warai is seven months older than Naruto…right? Well, she is. They graduated the Academy in late June…so there! Sasuke's birthday passes in this chapter, so he's now 13.

Weird how the boys are younger than the girls, huh?